The first occurrence of chronic post-thoracotomy pain syndrome after syringopleural shunt: A case report

Abstract

While post-thoracotomy pain syndrome is a known phenomenon in thoracic surgery, its occurrence after pleural shunt placement has not been described in the literature. A 41-year-old female with a history of Chiari I decompression surgery was admitted with a complaint of paresthesia, neuropathic pain affecting all extremities, and gait difficulty. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed a C2-7 syringomyelia, and a syringopleural shunt was placed. The patient improved both clinically and radiologically, but after four months of follow-up, she complained of pain near the thoracic incision and in the dermatome relevant to the intercostal nerve root. The wound was surgically explored, and reactive changes to the shunt catheter were found near the intercostal nerve root. The shunt was subsequently removed, and a syringoarachnoidal shunt was placed instead. The patient improved postoperatively and was discharged without any complications. In conclusion, careful consideration of the location and course of the intercostal nerves is essential when placing pleural shunt systems.

Cite this article as: Akbulut BB, Bölük MS, Yurtseven T, Biceroglu H. The first occurrence of chronic postthoracotomy pain syndrome after syringopleural shunt: A case report. Agri 2026;38(3):198-201. doi: 10.5606/ agri.2026.59.

H.B., T.Y.: Conception or design of the work, critical revision of the article; B.B.A.: Data collection; B.B.A., M.S.B.: Data analysis and interpretation, drafting the article.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

Data Sharing Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.